Assist

In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organizers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organizers of fantasy football competitions. Recording assists is not part of the official Laws of the Game and the criteria for an assist to be awarded may vary.

Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for passing or crossing the ball to the scorer. It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender, goalkeeper or goalpost) to a teammate who scores. Some systems may credit an assist to a player who wins a penalty kick or a free kick for another player to convert, or to an attacking player for contributing to an own goal. A goal may be unassisted, or have one assist; some systems allow for two assists.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA’s Technical Study Group is responsible for awarding assist points at the FIFA World Cup.

United States

The NCAA makes regulations for statistics, including assists, in college soccer in the U.S. Two players may be credited with assists if the second did not have to beat a defender before passing to the scorer. No assist is awarded for winning a penalty. If a goal is scored after a save, block, or rebound from the goal frame, the first shooter gets an assist.

Britain

In Britain, official game statistics, including assists, for the Premier League, the Scottish Premier League and the Football League are provided by PA Sport under the Actim brand. Assists have been factored into the Actim Index of Premier League player performance. The assist statistics provided by fantasy football competitions may differ from the Actim data; some uniformly credit an assist to whichever teammate last touched the ball before the scorer, regardless of other circumstances of the play. The Premier League Playmaker of the Season award was introduced for the player with most assists.

France

The French league, Ligue 1, awards the Trophée de Meilleur Passeur (“best passer trophy”) to the player with most “decisive passes” in a season. The league’s Commission des Compétitions includes blocked shots as a subset of “decisive passes”.